Bears CEO & President Ted Phillips Emails Season Ticket Holders

Ted Phillips, CEO & President of the Bears, sent out the following email to Bears season ticket holders about the team and moving forward after a season in which they lost the finale to the Packers and missed the postseason.

Thank you for your tremendous commitment and passion during the 2013 campaign. Our Season Ticket Holders continue to be the cornerstone of our organization. We cannot do it without you. We fell short of our ultimate goal last year of winning a Super Bowl championship, but the season provided all of us weekly excitement with many tremendous highs and some sobering lows. We will learn from both and be better as a result.

We took important steps last year to lay the foundation we will build upon under head coach Marc Trestman. On offense, we turned in the best performance in team history setting numerous single-season franchise records, including net yards (6,109), gross passing yards (4,450), net passing yards (4,281), completion percentage (64.4), passing touchdowns (32) and passer rating (96.9). We had four offensive players named to the Pro Bowl including running back Matt Forte, wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall, and our first round draft pick, guard Kyle Long. Our special teams unit progressively improved throughout the year and kicker Robbie Gould tied his own single-season franchise mark with an 89.7 field goal percentage, including a franchise-record 58-yarder, while becoming the second player in franchise history with 1,000 career points along the way. On defense, we took a step backwards. Although the defense recorded a league-best 11 take aways over the first three weeks of the season, including three defensive touchdowns led by Pro Bowl corner Tim Jennings, we did not play with the consistency needed to win each week in the NFL. We are confident we will be able to correct those inconsistencies and field an attacking defense that has been a hallmark of Bears teams since its inception almost 100 years ago.

The offseason will be spent making the necessary improvements in all phases of the game. The early offseason player contract signings, including our quarterback Jay Cutler and left guard Matt Slauson, brings continuity to the team and we expect them to build on last year’s success. We’ve added experienced coaches to our defensive staff to bring out the best in both our veteran and young players. Under the direction of General Manager Phil Emery and Coach Trestman, we will continue to add talent to our roster and evaluate our methods to ensure we are on track to reach our goals.

The preparations for our 95th season of Chicago Bears football are well underway. For all of us, getting back on the field cannot come soon enough. The 2014 season ticket invoices will be sent in the coming weeks, and our focus remains on providing the greatest in-stadium experience and year-round engagement, while fielding the best team in the NFL. Our communication will continue to be proactive and informative, including a new Twitter handle to be rolled out this year specifically for Season Ticket Holders.

On behalf of the entire Bears organization, thank you. Your dedication is greatly appreciated by the entire organization. The 2014 football season will be a memorable one, and we remain committed to bringing Super Bowl championships back to Chicago.